Identity

What is Child Identity Theft? Everything Parents Should Know

Fred Decker0464 views

This article was updated in March 2024 by Cyrus Grant. 

Here’s a quick thought experiment:  take a moment to visualize the perfect victim for identity theft.  Who do you picture?  The high roller with more dollars than sense, overflowing with credit cards and unexamined bank statements?  The isolated senior with sterling credit, a lifetime of savings, and increasing cognitive difficulties? 

While it’s true that scammers will cheerfully pillage either of those people, you’re overlooking a demographic that offers lots of scope for long-term fraud: children.  Child identity fraud is a huge and growing problem, one that’s often harder to detect than fraud perpetrated against an adult.  Here’s how it happens, and what to do about it. 

What is Child Identity Theft? 

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but let’s break it down.  Identity theft is when a criminal steals someone’s private information , and then uses that information in a fraudulent way (often for some financial gain).  Child identity theft is the exact same, except with the added level of moral hollowness that comes with targeting literal children.

Common uses of child identity theft include things like:

  • Taking out fraudulent loans.
  • Opening bank accounts and credit cards under the child’s name.
  • Gaining illegal employment.
  • Applying for government benefits such as unemployment.
  • Filing fraudulent tax returns in order to keep tax returns.
  • Blending the child’s private information  with fictitious details to build a “synthetic identity.”

Why Identity Thieves Target Children

Identity thieves often try to take advantage of their victims’ credit or fraudulently drain their savings.  So, why would they target kids, who typically don’t have either of those things?  The answer is simple: it’s about their Social Security number.  What makes a child’s SSN extra appealing is the fact that they typically go unused until the first time a person goes looking for a job.  That’s usually a lot of years after the number is issued, which gives scammers plenty of time to get their money’s worth from it. 

With data breaches pumping hundreds of millions of records into the shady online marketplaces of the “dark web,” plus all of the other ways private information can go astray, it’s not hard for criminals to buy or steal kids’ SSNs. 

How to Detect Child Identity Theft

When it comes to detecting if your child’s SSN has been compromised, there are a few ways to stay vigilant.  If for some reason you think there has been a compromise in your child’s private information, you can reach out to the major credit-reporting agencies.  If they have a file corresponding to your minor child’s SSN, and there’s no reason you know of for such a file to exist, then something’s wrong.  Another option is to occasionally search your child’s name — and phone number and email address, if they’re a bit older — with Spokeo’s people search tools to give you some early warning that your kid has a fraudulent adult counterpart (Note: Spokeo’s data only relates to US adults 18 and older, so you won’t find any data actually pertaining to your child on Spokeo.  Rather, this approach will only help you possibly identify if someone is using your child’s info to create a fraudulent or synthetic identity.  Even then, keep in mind that names by themselves are usually not unique, so a social media profile using a name that happens to match your child’s doesn’t necessarily mean that your child has been a victim of identity theft.). 

Other red flags that can alert child identity theft:

  • Collection agencies asking for your child.
  • Credit cards or pre-approval offers in the mail with your child’s name.
  • An IRS alert that your child has already been claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.
  • Mail from the IRS or SSA addressed to your child.

The very worst way to uncover child identity fraud is when your child comes of age and needs to open an account, apply for jobs and rentals, or get a driver’s license or student loan.  All of these normal rites of passage become infinitely more complicated if someone else’s problematic 12- or 15-year credit history is attached to your child’s SSN. 

Common Ways Child Identity Theft Happens

There’s no shortage of ways criminals have schemed up to commit identity theft, however, there are certain methods that are used more often than others.  When it comes to knowing how your child’s identity might be vulnerable, be on the lookout for these common forms of identity theft.

Familiar Fraud (aka Familial Fraud) 

While we’d like to think identity theft is committed by faceless criminals, the hard truth is that people close to the child have the most opportunity to do this.  

It’s called “familiar” identity theft, because it’s perpetrated by someone within the family circle.  That might be a parent, a caregiver, a member of the extended family or even just a friend or neighbor.  These are all people who have, or might conceivably be able to gain access to the child’s personal information.  Often they’ll rationalize their actions, and persuade themselves their fraud is justified or appropriate, but it’s a betrayal by any objective standard. 

Phishing Scams 

Phishing scams will appear at the top of pretty much any modern scam list.  While people of all ages may be a quick and mindless click away from being duped by a phishing scam, criminals know that children are even easier targets.

Because kids are increasingly online (and rarely supervised), scammers have begun targeting children with phishing scams through social media and other commonly visited online spaces.  Whether it’s via the promise of some incentive, or just a fully fake link, scammers are successfully getting kids to click on links and give away personal information that criminals then use to commit child identity theft.

Data Breaches

While moving into the digital world has brought an abundance of convenience, it hasn’t arrived without some downsides.  One of such downsides being the semi-often occurring data breach.  We hear about it all the time in the news, and often shrug it off as “probably fine,” but these data breaches are an absolute goldmine for identity thieves, especially when the data breach victim is an institution that has your child’s SSN.

Once these companies are breached, a flood of private information is thrown on the dark web, and can be shopped around by criminals all over the world.

Hacking

As safe as you can try and be, your child almost certainly has information online.  Whether it’s gaming accounts, online learning services, or social media, identity thieves have a number of targets when it comes to gaining access to private information.

The tough part when it comes to protecting your information from being compromised via hacking, is even if you set up a robust password or two-factor authentication, skilled cyber-criminals can often find a crack somewhere, whether it’s your fault or not.  All this is to say, when it comes to all your accounts and online presence, exercise good internet safety practices, and stay alert to any fishy logins or alerts (but don’t fall for the fake ones!).

Preventing Child Identity Theft

The best way to prevent child identity theft is to take several proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of it happening.  The first and most important is to lock down their credit with the three main reporting agencies.  The process isn’t the same as initiating a freeze for an adult, so you’ll need to look at the instructions from Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian separately.  According to Eva Velasquez, the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, it’s the single biggest thing you can do to protect your child from identity theft.

Other useful measures include the following: 

  • Securing your child’s physical Social Security card.  Don’t carry it around with you, and don’t leave it lying around the house either.  Keep it in a safe in your home, or ideally a safe-deposit box at the bank. 
  • Not giving your child’s SSN unnecessarily.  One of the reasons you might carry your child’s Social Security card is for filling out forms.  Often that field isn’t mandatory — it’s there for the asker’s convenience — so feel free to question why they need it; and don’t give it out without good reason. 
  • Being mindful of other compromising materials.  The physical Social Security card isn’t the only place your child’s SSN might be found.  It can also show up on some correspondence (medical bills or insurance statements, perhaps) or on old devices that you’re reselling or recycling.  Any paperwork containing the SSN should be shredded or securely stored, and devices should be erased or destroyed. 
  • Dialing back your public social-media posts.  Posting about our kids is one of the things parents do on social media, but you need to think hard about what you post and who can see it.  Stealing (or buying) a crucial piece of private information like a credit card or SSN is only part of acquiring a stolen identity.  The more information you make publicly available about your child, the easier it may be for someone to steal your child’s identity. 

What To Do If Your Child’s Identity Has Been Stolen

In an ideal world we can stop the bad things before they happen.  Sadly, we don’t always get that luxury.  Should you realize that your kid’s identity has been compromised, follow these steps:

  1. Directly contact the company(ies) where your child’s identity was used and request the accounts be closed immediately.  Be sure to follow up and confirm all accounts were closed.
  2. Report your case at the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov site, which will also walk you through creating a step-by-step recovery plan.
  3. Contact all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) and alert them to the fraudulent activity.
  4. Place a freeze on your child’s credit with the credit bureaus.
  5. File a police report.  When a crime is committed, it’s always best practice to file a report with your local law enforcement.  That way should the culprit be caught, you’ll have the option to press charges.
  6. Reach out to the Social Security Administration to see if your child’s SSN is being used elsewhere.  Let them know about any fraud so they can assist you in changing your child’s SSN if necessary.

Be sure to keep copies of all of your correspondence with each of these companies or agencies, in case of disputes.

It’s Just…Parenting

Parenting is largely about protecting our kids until they’re old enough to make their own decisions, so shielding them from identity theft is just one more aspect of parenting in the modern world.  Preemptively locking down their SSN and credit files, talking with them about online safety and oversharing (“someone you’ve been messaging with for a month but never met in person is still a stranger…”), and maybe even installing an app that gives you some measure of control over their devices are all things to think about. 

The day will come when you have to let them leave the nest and fly solo, but keeping a watchful eye on their identity in the meantime will help make that first flight a smooth one. 

Sources

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